21 Ways to Fund a Nonprofit

Name: 21 Ways to Fund a Nonprofit
Rating: 4.7 (61 reviews)

The essential course for selecting nonprofit funding!

Created byCheryl Smith

Last updated 11/2022

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

21 methods for funding a nonprofit
Considerations when selecting a method of funding
Multiple ways that corporations give to charitable programs
The difference between equity, debt, and donation-based crowdfunding
How to identify less obvious state funding opportunities
How federal matches and cost reimbursement impacts the small nonprofit
The difference between membership and mandatory fees
How fiscal sponsors can help nonprofits, small businesses and individuals further a charitable mission

Course content

3 sections • 16 lectures • 1h 15m total length

Introduction3:46
Explore 21 funding models for nonprofits, including social enterprise, membership, fundraising, crowdfunding, and grants from government, corporate, and foundations, with guidance on mission alignment and advisory consultations.
Course Primer5:05
Define the nonprofit as a business and map funding from individuals, foundations, bequests, and corporations. Introduce 21 funding methods and frameworks to weigh pros and cons.
How To Get The Most Out Of This Course1:47

Self-Funding & Bartering5:24
Develop self funding with your board as the nonprofit's primary funding, avoid co-mingling, and pursue public contributions; supplement with bartering through exchange networks like Iata to stretch resources.
Individual Donations & Bequests4:38
Explore how individual donations, the largest funding source at about 70 percent, drive nonprofits, including bequests and planned giving, with cash, items, volunteering, and pay as you can.
Corporate Giving3:39
Explore corporate giving, including employee volunteer programs, matching donations, federated giving campaigns like united way, grants, sponsorships, and product donations, and pursue both corporate and foundation opportunities.
Fundraising4:18
Discover legal, donation-based fundraising ideas and hybrid events that engage both virtual and in-person attendees. Plan for strong roi using the 80/20 principle with ideas like virtual races and cook-offs.
Equity, Debt, and Donation Crowdfunding4:05
Explore equity and debt crowdfunding for nonprofits, including for-profit partnerships, interest-bearing loans via platforms like Kiva, and the benefits of donation-based crowdfunding with three essential elements: idea, platform, and funders.
Social Enterprises4:23
Explore how social enterprises generate revenue to fund social programs, prioritize employment for at-risk communities, and learn about models like the Women's Bean Project, Swipe Out Hunger, and Thistle Farms.
Membership & Mandatory Fees4:33
Explore membership fees as unrestricted nonprofit income, the two-sided benefits for members, and why dues aren’t tax deductible, plus the impact of mandatory fees and unrelated business income.
Commercial, SBA, and CDFI Loans4:18
Explore commercial, SBA micro, and CDFI loans for nonprofits, covering collateral, personal guarantees, and repayment expectations, with notes on historical and current nonprofit funding programs.
Government Funding Methods11:55
Explore government funding methods for nonprofits, focusing on competitive federal grants with cost reimbursement and matching requirements; learn preparations via SAM.gov and Grants.gov, plus state and local funding avenues.
Private and Community Foundations7:12
Compare private foundations with public charities, and learn their funding, governance, and IRS rules, including a minimum 5% of average net assets distribution and research tools like GuideStar and IRS.gov.
Fiscal Sponsorships2:22
Learn how fiscal sponsorships use a 501(c)(3) sponsor to accept tax-deductible donations and control funds for mission-aligned work. Explore models, ownership options, and fees (7 to 15%).

Concluding Thoughts3:07
Discover practical approaches to funding a nonprofit and turning 'no' into 'yes' through confidence, persistence, and knowing your worth, with training inspired by 21 ways to fund a nonprofit.
Bonus Lecture5:01
Explore free grant databases such as communityheroes.us, grantmakers.io, and foundation directory quickstart to research funders by state and how they fund, then prepare budgets and IRS documentation for proposals.

Requirements

There are no prerequisite skills or courses needed.

Description

Nonprofit organizations are established to benefit the world in one form or another. Naturally, the nonprofit founder, board and executive leadership desires every possible dollar that they can get to further the mission of the organization. Still, the matter of “where” to find these dollars has eluded many nonprofit leaders, especially those who are new to the sector. And given the growth-rate for the nonprofit sector and the fierce competition for traditional funding, this course was written to help small and mid-sized nonprofit leaders identify multiple funding sources so that they are positioned to thrive. A thriving nonprofit is one that is successfully reaching their programmatic goals through ongoing growth, development and sustainability. Leaders of thriving nonprofits understand that they are running a business which will face many of the same financial dilemmas as their for-profit counterparts -- with the obvious need for cash-flow to start, sustain, and expand operations. Because nonprofits cannot sell company shares or take on investors in the traditional sense, these leaders have had to look for other creative means for funding.

This course discusses 21 funding methods that may be helpful for nonprofit leaders to consider as they search for diverse streams of income to further their mission.

Who this course is for:

This course is intended for U.S. Nonprofit 501c3 Organizations; however, the content is very universal and can be applied to most public charities anywhere in the world.

21 Ways to Fund a Nonprofit

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction3 lectures • 11min